This is the monthly thread for posting media of various types that you've found that you enjoy. Post what you're reading, listening to, watching, and your opinion of it. Post recommendations to blogs. Post whatever media you feel like discussing! To see previous recommendations, check out the older threads.
Rules:
Please avoid downvoting recommendations just because you don't personally like the recommended material; remember that liking is a two-place word. If you can point out a specific flaw in a person's recommendation, consider posting a comment to that effect.
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Use the "Other Media" thread if you believe the piece of media you want to discuss doesn't fit under any of the established categories.
Use the "Meta" thread if you want to discuss about the monthly media thread itself (e.g. to propose adding/removing/splitting/merging subthreads, or to discuss the type of content properly belonging to each subthread) or for any other question or issue you may have about the thread or the rules.
Working my way through Torture and the Law of Proof. It's an account of the role of torture in European justice systems going back to medieval times. It starts at the end of the older system of trial by battle/ordeal where God would (presumably) decide the case and looks at the start of evidence-based trials.
It's interesting to see how torture "naturally" arose because the standards of evidence were so high--you couldn't be convicted except on the testimony of two witnesses or your own confession (note that a similar proviso is found in the US Constitution regarding treason). They came up with the idea of a half-proof, where a single witness or circumstantial evidence could be used to gain judicial permission to apply torture. The author notes that legal scholars of the day were very well aware of the possibility of false confessions and looks at the various methods used to attempt to minimize this and why they failed.
The main drawback for me is that the writing can be rather dry and academic.
4sixes_and_sevens
Read Tyler Cowen's The Great Stagnation last week. It's not massively insightful if you're already familiar with the thesis, but it is a very short read, and fruitfully referenced.
This is the monthly thread for posting media of various types that you've found that you enjoy. Post what you're reading, listening to, watching, and your opinion of it. Post recommendations to blogs. Post whatever media you feel like discussing! To see previous recommendations, check out the older threads.
Rules: